ATG Danmon sees growing demand for virtualised systems

ATG Danmon UK has reported a successful IBC2015 with increasing interest in software-centric product virtualisation. “The move from panel-per-product hardware to software-based solutions running on enterprise servers has now become an established fact of systems integration life,” commented ATG Danmon UK Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger.

“Technology has progressed to the point where multiple devices can be virtualised within a single server. In our role as systems integrators, we will include virtualisation whenever it offers clear operational and cost-efficiency advantages to our customers. The key technical challenge today is to ensure that software from multiple vendors operates efficiently when combined into a single operating environment, whilst retaining the flexibility and reliability that broadcasters quite rightly insist on.

“There was a lot of discussion at IBC2015, as indeed last year, about the relative merits of serial digital interfacing and Internet Protocol. IP clearly has some benefits on offer but there are still plenty of reasons why we will see the continued use of SDI for the foreseeable future. Rather than IP completely replacing SDI, it is evident that a hybrid approach currently offers the best of both technologies.

“Traditional broadcasting has proved its ability not just to survive competition from the internet but to embrace it. Many channels now offer catch-up television services as a routine element of their activity, along with web-based news, programme guides and over-the-top supplementary programme feeds. A key element of our role as a systems integrator is to support our customers with these new delivery options and to ensure they can operate as efficiently as possible in an industry which demands high productivity as well as creativity.”